1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric plug and, more particularly, to such an electric plug, which is comprised of a front housing holding a set of conducting blades, and a rear housing hinged to the front housing and holding a set of metal terminals, which are respectively pivoted to the conducting blades for enabling the rear housing to be turned relative to the front housing between two positions within 90xc2x0.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates an electric plug 1 according to the prior art. This structure of electric plug 1 comprises an electrically insulative housing 12, and two conducting blades 1 axially forwardly extended out of the front side of the housing 12. According to this design, the housing 12 is perpendicularly protruded from the front side of the electric outlet after installation of the electric plug. FIG. 2 illustrates another structure of electric plug according to the prior art. According to this design, the electric plug 2 comprises an electrically insulative housing 22, two conducting blades 21 perpendicularly extended out of the housing 22, and a pull ring 24 pivoted to the housing 22. This design occupies less installation space. Through the pull ring 24, the user can pull the electric plug 2 away from the electric outlet with less effort. However, when pulling the pull ring 24, a concentration of stress is produced, and the housing 22 tends to be damaged, causing the pull ring 24 to disconnect from the housing 22. This design of electric plug occupies less vertical installation space, however it occupies much horizontal installation space. When the electric plug 2 installed in an electric outlet in the wall near the floor, the power cord 23 of the electric plug 2 may have to be bent to a particular direction. In this case, the inside conductors of the power cord 23 tend to be broken. FIG. 3 shows still another structure of electric plug according to the prior art (Taiwan Patent Publication No. 431695). According to this design, the electric plug 3 comprises a bottom cover shell 31, a wheel 32, two conducting blades 33, two metal terminals 34, a power cord 35, and a top cover shell 36. The conducting blades 33 are coupled to the wheel 32 and respectively pivoted to the metal terminals 34. The wheel 32 can be rotated in front openings 311;361 of the cover shells 31;36. When in use, as shown in FIG. 4, the cover shells 31;36 can be turned with the metal terminals 34 relative to the conducting blades 33 and the wheel 32 within 180xc2x0 (90xc2x0 leftwards and 90xc2x0 rightwards). However, when the electric plug 3 installed in the left socket unit 371 of a multi-socket electric outlet 37, the electric plug 3 will block the adjacent socket unit 372 of the electric outlet 37 if the user turn the cover shells 31;36 to the right side relative to the conducting blades 33. Further, this design is not suitable for a three-pole electric plug fitting a three-pole electric socket.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an electric plug that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.
The present invention has been accomplished to provide an electric plug, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. It is one object of the present invention to provide an electric plug, which can be alternatively set between two positions to minimize the occupation of installation space. It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric plug, which is suitable for a two-pole design as well as a three-pole design. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the electric plug comprises a front housing formed of a bottom cover shell and a top cover shell, the front housing comprising a plurality of insertion slots in the bottom cover shell thereof, and a plurality of notches in a rear side thereof; a rear housing formed of a bottom cover shell and a top cover shell and pivoted to the front housing, the rear housing comprising a plurality of knuckles protruded from a front side thereof and respectively pivoted to the notches of the front housing; a plurality of conducting blades mounted in the housing and respectively extended out of the insertion slots of the front housing in direction perpendicular to a front side of the front housing, the conducting blades each having a rear end respectively suspended in the notches of the front housing; and a plurality of metal terminals mounted in the rear housing and connected to a power cord, the metal terminals each having a front end respectively pivoted to the rear ends of the conducting blades in the notches of the front housing for enabling the rear housing to be turned relative to the front housing between a first position where the front housing and the rear housing are maintained horizontally aligned, and a second position where the front housing and the rear housing are maintained at right angles.